This university thing is scary, but I’m not gonna tell anyone. How am I going to get a job with this degree? What am I going to do? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?

Wow, moved into a dorm. Gonna pay rent and all. I’m so mature.

All those internships want someone experienced, but how am I supposed to gain experience if no one will hire me? Why won’t they let me get experience? How am I going to get a job later? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?

They say exams are tough, but the studying really sucks. I hate waiting.

Oh my God, my first post-graduation job. When did it come to this?

MY FIRST PAYCHECK IT HAS MY NAME ON IT.

Where did the last three months go? I’m so tired.

Ran into Eyelashes the other day and was surprised I even recognized him. I’ve totally moved on. Also, his eyelashes are not that long, after all.

Posing in the centenary issue, she looks happy, spunky and lovely. “I always liked keeping myself looking quite decent, even if I wasn’t going out. I try to keep the standards up.” Watching the film about her photoshoot, I can’t help blinking back a tear, removing myself for a second from the uplifting, positive message and serious thoughts the video provokes.

In my mind’s eye I see my Granny, dilligently applying her pearly red lipstick with a slightly trembling hand, even during the years when her eyesight had almost completely disappeared. I remember how happy she was about the fabulously cut flower-patterned summer dress my mother had given her as a present from a family trip we had taken, when she could still see. I remember posing with her and my siblings at my grandparents’ home shortly after, on a summer afternoon, all of us with happy lipstick smiles and wearing flower-print dresses to match.

So besides saying kudos to (a hopefully ongoing) diversity in the ages represented among fashion models, kudos as well to not making it an issue and simply showing women, people living their lives and having interesting experiences. We have friends our own age, we have siblings, cousins, maybe nephews and nieces. We have aquaintances, colleagues. We also have mothers, aunts, grandmothers and women in our lives who have been at this longer than we have, and who have a history and a whole land of memory to share. I would love to see more of those women in the media throwing on a bright coat or a funky scarf of their choosing and smiling at what they see in the mirror, or on a screen.

A recent dinner conversation included reminiscing about favourite teenage flicks from the 90s and early 2000s, most of which included – surprise, surprise – a (usually USA-based) prom (situation). And with prom season fast approaching, I went down memory lane.

I don’t know how many times I watched She’s All That as my own prom approached, on VHS – the nostalgia! This scene in particular enjoyed some rewinding:

Then there was this here whimsical thing – the first time I had heard Kirsten Dunst sing was in Get Over It.

And, of course, Miss Congeniality. Even if it didn’t contain a prom scene and was about adults, not teens, it was very funny and had plenty of scene-stealing moments from Sandra Bullock that were more than adaptable to the excited prom mindset.

My own prom wasn’t a glittering, disco-light-soaked affair like in the movies above, and a memorable musical number wasn’t included either. In fact, the best part was going up on stage during the official part and having my family watch me get my diploma, and then joyfully leaving to celebrate elsewhere after seeing that the dancefloor in the school canteen had quickly become a mass of drunk teenagers and parents. I think I was fortunate to have an inkling that this was not the gateway to the rest of my life, but that my life was already happening. Despite the mild disappointment of not dancing the night away in a haze of youthful laughter and confetti, I knew this was not the last party ever. So I just amped up the positivity and focused on the not unimportant event of graduating.

There will indeed be other parties – student parties, friend parties, wedding parties, summer parties, birthday parties, family parties, work parties, all of them different and educational in their own unique ways. The glories of adulthood and not being a minor will also ensure an independent and rounded partying experience. And psst, despite what some people may repeat to you, there is no age limit to this. Don’t listen to the party poopers.